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Maharishi School alumni Ari Berman is speaking this Friday night, October 5, at 7pm, at the Iowa City Book Festival. ICBF writes,

” [Ari] has written extensively about American politics, civil rights, and the intersection of money and politics. His stories have also appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian, and he is a frequent guest and commentator on MSNBC and NPR. His first book, Herding Donkeys: The Fight to Rebuild the Democratic Party and Reshape American Politics, was published in 2010 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.”

Ari, a senior reporter for Mother Jones and a Fellow at The Nation Institute, is an expert on the issues of gerrymandering, voter registration, and voter suppression—topics that are on the mind of many in the lead-up to the 2018 midterm elections.

Ari’s book, Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America, was published in 2015 and is as relevant as ever. He has written extensively about American politics, civil rights, and the intersection of money and politics. His stories have also appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian, and he is a frequent guest and commentator on MSNBC and NPR. The event is in Meeting Room A of the Iowa City Public Library, co-sponsored by the Johnson County League of Women Voters and the University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

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Two dazzling alumni visited the school to share their vocation ventures and give us guidance. The first speaker was Adrien Daller. Adrien calls herself a speech nerd who was always shushing people when they interrupted the teacher. She is grateful for the School’s theatre program because that was where she understood that she wanted to perform. She went out with certainty and met change. Adrien says, “The moral of my story is that sometimes on the way to your dreams, you find better ones.”

She went overseas to study acting in England and sang “God Save the Queen” to Queen Elizabeth. From there she ended up singing and performing in Italy. She says that it was a great experience doing “what I said I wanted, but I wasn’t happy.” Something was missing.

Back in Fairfield she reconnected with friends and family and realized that she needed to do something else. She started writing her own music, and was in, and helped to start, several bands. The album The Endless Prom came out of that. She says, “I’m doing what I love, even though it’s not what I expect. I’m making music with people who inspire me, and being close to people I love.”

Her advice to the students is, “Keep trying things; it doesn’t matter if you make mistakes, just keep trying.” She also says, “Keep an open mind to what dream you might have. Work really hard on what you love, and see what happens.”

Eli Lieb started writing music when he was 16. His youthful experience was charmed—he says that he didn’t overthink things but just dove in. He went to New York to advance his career and sang in endless Open Mics. He remembers once when his turn to sing came at 3 am. “Use your energy for what you want without stopping,” he says. “ Look at every experience as a tool to find out who you are and what you want. There is no bad experience.”

Success came with an agent and a contract. This seemed ideal. He loved the city that never sleeps; however, he found himself bowing to power and giving up his voice. Returning to Fairfield was his time to re-tune. “The second I committed to being happy and moved back to Fairfield, that’s when my career took off.” When he exchanged cards with a dog-walking companion, he saw the job description “Sony Records.” Support of Nature. Eli’s underwater song on YouTube (shot by fellow graduate Geoff Boothby) has had 5.5 million hits. He calls this his calling card.

His advice is, “Be happy; do what makes you happy. Be yourself. The more authentic you are, the more people respond to you. You can’t please everyone; if you try to do that you lose yourself.” Eli says he would not have this mindset without TM and the Fairfield community. “People like that part of you. What you have is a unique tool for achieving happiness.” Regarding his knowledge of Sanskrit he says, “When you tell people that you understand Sanskrit they will think it’s amazing.”